Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) posted its fiscal first quarter profit at Rs 2,493 crore, up 46.5 per cent in comparison to Rs 1702.07 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year, beating estimates. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 47,882.37, up 33.6 per cent from Rs 35,853.20 crore during the first quarter of FY23. The revenue growth was primarily aided by execution of a healthy opening order book in its Projects and Manufacturing portfolio. Meanwhile, international revenues during the quarter at Rs 19,022 crore constituted 40 per cent of the total revenue. The company’s EBITDA stood at Rs 4,868.7 crore. According to the CNBC TV18 estimates, L&T was expected to post profit for the quarter at Rs 2,150 crore, and revenue at Rs 40,552 crore.
While the total income for the quarter was at Rs 49,027.93 crore, up 34.1 per cent in comparison to Rs 36,547.92 crore a year ago, total expenses during Q1FY24 came in at Rs 44,695.56 crore. The company also announced a special dividend of Rs 6 per equity share, i.e., 300 per cent on face value of Rs 2 each for the financial year 2023-24. L&T said that the record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is August 2, 2023.
L&T’s order book
L&T received orders worth Rs 65,520 crore at the group level during the quarter, registering a strong on-year growth of 57 per cent. During the quarter, orders were received across diverse segments like rail, renewables, rural water supply, transmission & distribution, IT & office space and onshore & offshore verticals of the hydrocarbon business. International orders stood at Rs 27,646 crore during the quarter, which comprised 42 per cent of the total order inflow. “The consolidated order book of the group is at Rs 412,648 crore as on June 30, 2023, with international orders having a share of 29 per cent,” L&T said in a statement.
L&T’s performance across business verticals
The company’s infrastructure project segment secured order inflow of Rs 40,051 crore during the quarter ended June 2023, registering a growth of more than 100 per cent YoY on receipt of a healthy mix of large value orders across sub-segments. International orders came in at Rs 13,872 crore which constituted 35 per cent of the total order inflow of the segment during the quarter. The segment posted customer revenues of Rs 22,058 crore during the quarter, up 56 per cent led by improved execution momentum witnessed across various projects.
L&T’s energy projects secured orders worth Rs 7,245 crore during the quarter, up 66 per cent YoY with receipt of orders in the onshore and offshore vertical of Hydrocarbon business. International order inflow constituted 40 per cent of the total order inflow of the segment during the quarter. The segment order book was at Rs 72,870 crore as on June 30, 2023, with the international order book constituting 62 per cent. The segment achieved customer revenues of Rs 6,682 crore, up 32 per cent on-year mainly due to execution ramp up in international projects in the Hydrocarbon business.
The Hi-tech manufacturing segment secured orders worth Rs 1,051 crore during the quarter, down 70 per cent on-year, largely due to relatively higher base effect of the previous year led by 3 order wins in defence engineering business. Export orders constituted 50 per cent of the total order inflow of the segment during the quarter. The segment posted customer revenues of Rs 1,781 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, up 40 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year, with execution momentum derived from the opening order book.
The IT & technology services segment posted customer revenues at Rs 10,851 crore for the quarter, up 14 per cent on-year and reflecting growth impetus in the IT&TS sector. International billing contributed 92 per cent of the total customer revenues of the segment.
The financial services segment, which reflects the performance of L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH) recorded income from operations at Rs 3,020 crore during the quarter, up 2 per cent on-year, mainly attributed to higher disbursement in retail business, in line with its stated objective of retailisation of the loan book. The total loan book is at Rs 78,566 crore during June 2023 versus Rs 80,893 crore during March 2023.
For the developing projects segment, L&T recorded customer revenues at Rs 1,294 crore during the quarter. “The segment EBIT for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 registered a profit of Rs 123 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 21 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year, primarily due to consolidation of Nabha Power profits and improved Metro ridership,” L&T said.
Going forward
In the backdrop of mixed sentiment in terms of global and Indian economy, L&T said that it will continue its planned trajectory of profitable and return accretive growth. “Focus will remain on cash generation and judicious capital allocation. The Company has a robust order prospects pipeline in the medium term and is confident of sustaining its growth momentum by utilizing the emerging opportunities, with an overarching aim of improving shareholder value on a sustainable basis,” it concluded.